A blog on Singapore defence and the SAF that goes Above & Beyond The Obvious -The views expressed on this blog are my personal views and/or opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinion of the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (ACCORD). Follow us on Twitter @SenangDiri

Saturday, September 21, 2013

The missile warload for Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Sukhoi Su-30MKM warplanes went on show this morning, giving the public what is believed to be their first look at these missiles in RMAF service.

The missiles were carried on flat bed trailers as part of the RMAF contingent. Also shown were American-made missiles such as the Harpoon, Sidewinder and Sparrow.

The Russian-made ordnance are game changers for the RMAF as they allow its Su-30MKMs to hit targets from long-range and at ingress speeds far higher than that of comparable western munitions. The long reach of these missiles puts the RMAF pilots and WSOs out of the defensive envelope of most surface-to-air missile systems.

The supersonic Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles, in particular, could potentially unhinge air defence systems that rely on radars to scan the airspace and guide SAMs to their targets.

The RMAF is not known to have publicised live-firing trials of these missiles.

The pictures posted here indicate how close the MAF allowed this blog to approach the parade and Mobile Column. Many thanks for the courtesy this morning.

4. And they allowed media and photographers within spitting distance of the military hardware.

They set the stage. They had their audience. All the MAF had to do was to put on a good show.

Having been brought up reporting on the MINDEF/SAF approach to defence acquisitions, I tend to use this approach as the baseline frame of reference for the ops-tech side of the house.

There is also the info ops dimension one should consider. In this instance, using parade elements as a tool for defence posturing and to shape perceptions for a home ("A Formidable MAF. Sovereignty Safeguarded") and foreign audience.

Malaysia has a much smaller defence budget to support a much larger force and secure a much larger border. Some of their acquisitions are outright corrupt but even so, they have to get by with much less. I don't understand how some Singaporeans see things, it suggests they would have difficulty if they are less than fully equipped.

About the missiles, we don't disclose every capability that we have either. We don't see JSOW at our AFOH, much less a firing.

The fact that the crew of the old patrol boat whose prop shaft broke in the South China Sea managed to sail back to base without help is a credit to the crew's training.

Dear Anon @8.29 am,So poorly is your opinion of the MAF, perhaps the SAF could easily march and overrun the whole stretch of the peninsular with the uniforms staying crisp and clean 24/7 and boots gleaming from dawn to dusk ( of course with a Pinoy nanny in tow).

The Kh-29, Kh-31P and Kh-59ME were first displayed in 2010 at a RMAF Open Day in Subang. Trials were first performed over the Melaka Straits, we found out because a 'Notice to Mariners' was issued.

Anonymous said...

''The last time the RMAF bought the MIG-29M, the Russians didn't provide them with missiles because Malaysia cant afford or refuse to pay cold hard cash for them.

In the end, Malaysia had to purchase ex-ukranian expired stocks to arm their MIG-29M''.

Absolute nonsense ..... The RMAF didn't buy anything from the Ukraine for its MiG-29Ns; it did buy Archers and Alamos direct from Vympel. I actually saw the missiles in Kuantan back in the late 1990's; the markings clearly indicated that they had arrived straight from Vympel.

Anonymous said...

''Where did Malaysia got that KH-59ME plastic model?

it looks to be in very poor shape, the front canards of the missile is missing and the rear fin control are missing too.

The so-call platic model is for ground instruction and was provided when actual missiles were bought. Funny about you claiming the subs can't dive - a good friend just got back from sea in a sub that actually travelled underwater. At least try to get your facts right before hitting the keyboard ..... Easy to make wild claims but backing up those claims with hard facts is a slightly different matter. If you want to maintain the illusion that only the MAF has it share of cock-ups, knock yourself out.

Anonymous said...

''where else in this world will you find a military parade where they use photocopy paper printed with the weapon name and stick onto the weapon with scotch tape?''

True, but at least nobody participating in the parade faints or passes out from heat stroke.

I'm not at all disputing that the sub had technical problems that prevented it from diving shortly after it was delivered. The problem however was fixed whilst the sub was under a period of warranty and the same problem was not encountered with the 2nd sub. All this was years ago.... but ''informed'' chaps still like to claim that the subs still can't dive - either because they're genuinely ignorant or just for the sake of making false smart ass comments. In the run up to the recent General Elections, opposition bloggers were adament that both subs were still incapable of diving, this depite a major figure from an opposition party having participated in a dive on board one of the subs....

Yes I heard about the incident in Israel. There was also an inccident years ago when a biker gang in Sweden managed to ''buy'' a couple of Carl Gustavs from someone at a base and used them during a brawl. Cock-ups happen the world over, not just in the MAF; problem is people tend to overlook the fact that the MAF is placed under much greater public scrutiny [compared to certain other militaries] and the the opposition and the media here are more vocal about what they can publicly say about the MAF.

These are not a threat... MAF are trying to use stand off weapons but Singapore can take them down anyway. Asters are capable of striking ballistic missiles so these Russian ASM is not even a problem to begin with. The problem is if their standoff strategy fails... what happens? Well... there will be no MAF thereafter.

Anyway, the question is how the Indonesia view these weapons. How will they react?

Oh please. Our submarines are quieter, more tech infused, cheaper and we have 6 of them. And what makes you think that they do not carry missiles...Bla bla bla...it is pointless making comparisons with an armed forces which has some 3 times the budget of the maf and growing larger still.

You armchair defence analysts are pathetic. Would someone actually display their ACTUAL arsenal? Mock-ups are the next best thing. These parades are meant to be a tool to display to the public that we are well equipped to face any threat and not to show off muscles. My advice is.....if you cant make intelligent assessments, do not assume based on what you read in below-par blogs, alternative media or even non-verified materials. You can shoot off insults all you want but at the end of the day, you are still a useless MF who has done nothing for the defence of you country. If you really want to contribute, sign up for the SAF, MAF or whatever Fs there are.......BE A MAN!

a friends' statement; my father was from outerspace, he took me on a ride to alpha centauri on his space ship.

a personal account; I saw darth vader landed in kuantan back in late 1990s.

a notice to mariner, all ships please avoid x and y; we got death star testing the death ray in Melaka straits.

such hard facts are truly hard to challenge eh?''

Actually, the onus is on you to provide facts as you were the one who made the claim that the subs still can't dive. As I said before, it's easy to make wild claims and smart ass comments [which any disgruntled child can do] but it's a different matter entirely backing up those claims ...

Personally, I think its a shame; David has done an excellent job with this blog but there are people who seen incapable of acting like adults and saying anything of substance ...

It appears there is a troll lurking in David's blog waiting to pounce on any posting on the MAF. From the writing style, I suspect it is a single troll making multipe anon comments. I would hazard a guess that this troll has been banned before from similar forums by his fellow countrymen.

It is a really a shame as the troll usually distracts attention from the gist of as David's very balanced and thoughful posts on the MAF.

Additionally the troll creates an impression that there is animosity between MY and SG when in reality there is none. David was in KL as a guest of the MAF (not his first and neither would this be the last time) and that the MAF harbours no ill intention towards it's neighbours.

A single troll it might be, but the seeds of hatred have been planted in many by the regimes on all sides.

Give it a rest, guys! Nobody profits from this hatred except the leaders who distract you from your own country's problems!

Relations between the countries are in fact fine and they exercise with each other several times a year. Why do you think the leaders say nasty provocative things about each other's country from time to time? Why do you think they keep telling you your family will be raped if there is no strong SAF? It is a show!

Cool it guys, please don't poke each other. Be a responsible adult and since when we are a threat to each other? Hundreds of thousand of MYs work in SIN and thousand of SINs owned properties in MY and holiday here. We need each other in so many ways.

It is in fact interesting to see the amount of hardware of both armed forces combined. True, SAF got money and tech but MAF will be there in no time.

Since numbers have been discussed, I want to question the figure for the SAF's reserve personnel of "950,000" on wikipedia. Less than 18,000 male citizen babies are born every year.

We cannot have more than 540,000 reserve personnel in the SAF, Police and Civil Defence between the ages of 20 and 50. We have to account for those few thousand enlisted into the police and civil defence, those few unable to serve and so on. I often read the figure of 350,000 in the SAF which is far more plausible. More than sufficient, minding you that calling up every male is neither possible nor necessary for any war.

This blog has already covered that as our population grows in future, our NS intake will shrink because immigrants are either non-citizens not subject to NS or decide not to take citizenship at age 18.

Little red dotted country is really butthurt didn't ya.This sepet country that still depend on Malaysia courtesy pipeline water to drink to bath to cook also still talk big heh.we really dont bother if all of you buttsepet face think our munitions is only a plastic model.The country who is playing wayang are Singapore.The battle unproven country with Comunist idealisme is you.

stop all this fighting.Malaysia need military force to protect from Indonesia, as indonesia claim this land belong to them.

Singapore need military force for? Protect them self from? Singapore is kick out from Malaysia and not fight to independent. there is no point people will attack singapore, as singapore have zero natural resources. What those singaporean do not ask their gov for so high budget for military but is more than just for wayang? The money can be better use to help the poor singaporean right?

I Really cannot brain the singaporean that are so proud of their military but their military never ever been to war. And who Singapore military need to protect them from? Who will waste all the effort to attack a zero resources tiny island? I suspend it more like used to enrich their cronies.

"Kh-31P anti-radiation missile (Type 77P) - passive seeker head for use as an anti-radiation missile. Stays at high altitude throughout its flight, allowing higher speeds and increasing range to 110 km (60 nmi/ 70 mi). The seeker has three interchangeable modules to cover different radar frequency bands, but they can only be changed at the factory."

Fixed passive seeker means static mode, which also translate into many advantages for the defending side. Nuff said~!

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About Me

Former Defence Correspondent at The Straits Times, a Singaporean English language broadsheet newspaper. ACCORD member. Working on a writing project before moving to staff comms.
KEMENTAH is short for Kementerian Pertahanan, the Malay term for Ministry of Defence. Senang Diri is a Malay footdrill command which means "stand at ease".
This blog is about defence information management, especially defence media relations and strategic media relations. It examines Singapore defence and security matters and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), which I'm very passionate about. I developed a life-long interest in the SAF the moment I attended my first SAF Display at Changi as a kid in the 1970s.
Thankfully, I've made more friends than enemies while researching the SAF. : )
Please visit my Youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ChineseJunk1.
MA in Security Studies, University of Hull (1996) under Prof Colin Gray, Dr Tim Huxley and Dr Eric Grove. US State Dept National Security & Counter Terrorism Program (2004)
Reported on:
* Flying Eagle: Taiwan 9/21 quake relief
* Blue Heron I: Timor Leste
* Blue Orchid I: Persian Gulf
* Flying Eagle: Meulaboh, Indonesia